{Wonder | Personal}

The little girl crawled out of bed and pulled herself up to the window sill, peeking out into the early morning light. A smile crept across her face as she saw what she was hoping to see, it had snowed for the first time this winter.

One stair at a time, one foot and then the other, she crept down the stairs. The house was quiet as her little sister and brother were still sleeping. She came into the dining room, and the picture out the sliding glass door made her stop. The beautiful light reflected off the white snow, and the swamp in her back yard had been transformed into a gorgeous place. Her eyes got big and her smile even bigger. She shivered a little.

She skipped over to the sliding glass door, and crouched down over the heating vent. The warm air filled the skirt of her red and white checked nightie, and her body began to warm as she took in the beauty of the scene, her eyes and heart filled with wonderment. It wasn't the first time that she'd seen snow, but it always made her feel this way.

__________________

My alarm went off on a Sunday morning, and I rolled over and punched the dismiss button. I closed my eyes again, until I began to feel the light start to seep through the windows. We were supposed to have gotten almost a foot of snow the day before, but it had never came. But as the light brightened up the room, I could tell that we'd gotten snow over night.

I pulled back the covers and the cold air hit me. It made me shiver and I hurriedly grabbed a fleece out of the closet, as I stared out the window. I had a photo session scheduled for this afternoon, and inside I sighed a little.

Snow on the farm meant work. It meant plowing and shoveling, and clearing out cars. It meant putting down sand and getting stuck in the driveway, and having to stay home for days. It meant splitting and hauling wood, and keeping the fire going.

I went downstairs to sit in front of the woodstove, curled up beneath a blanket. And as I sat there, watching the fire flicker, and glancing out the window as the morning got brighter, I realized I'd lost my wonderment and appreciation of the beauty.

The beauty was still there, but my eyes weren't seeing it. The mystery of where the snow came from, or how soft the flakes were, hadn't been solved, but it just didn't cross my mind.

I made myself forget the thoughts of the cold, and the work, and all the things it might mean I'd miss, and let myself see it through the eyes of the little girl.

The little girl in the red and white checkered nightie, that didn't have a care in the world. She didn't care that the snow meant work, or rough driving conditions, or the cold temperatures. She just saw the beauty of the soft snow falling from heaven. She wondered about the God who had blessed this earth with something so amazing and beautiful. She enjoyed the feeling of her body going from cold to warm, and the sight of the green pine trees covered in white.

Faith like a child, means living like one. Appreciating life like one. Forgetting all the worries and work of life, and enjoying each beautiful morning. It means having an attitude that looks at everything like a personal gift from God. Because it is.

{Church Is... | Personal}

{photo taken around June Lake, CA}

I've been thinking a lot lately about what church really is supposed to be. Lets face it, most of us are dissatisfied with what the church in America has become, it just doesn't seem like it's functioning the way God intended it to.

We've decided that church is not a building, or a time, or a meeting or a potluck, and rightly so... but if it's not what is it? Then we look at the book of Acts and decided that it must be community, living in unity as a body and fellowshipping together, which sounds good, but how does it work? What if we're not living in unity, what if we're not getting a long, what if things just become actions?

Church is never just a meeting. The church isn't a Sunday service, it isn't a community group, or people having fun together {although the church can do these things, it isn't these things}. Is the church simply a collection of people whose biggest, highest and only goal is love Jesus with all their mind, soul and strength? Whose passion is Jesus first, and which is then followed by a passion for people?

"The church" {or the body of Christ} cannon be a formula and it can't always look a certain way. We as humans have a tendency that as soon as we put a structure to something it becomes a formula. Structure isn't in itself bad, but the formula is... because it removes the relationship with God.

So the beginning of the Church is Jesus. Then come the broken people who need a relationship with their Savior. As their relationship grows, Jesus becomes their passion, their Father, their Life, and they naturally want to share that with others.

THIS is the church.

The church should be about relationships. But very FIRST, before any thing else, is a relationship with Jesus. It should be number one, and nothing should happen until it is strong and is truly number one. THEN come the other relationships.

Church is not a building, or a social gathering, or a discussion group. The church is not an outreach, the chuch is not a mission, it is not a recharge station, it is not caring about people, the church is JESUS IN US.

"I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love." {Revelation 2:2-4}

All those things, everything I just mentioned... will eventually come. But it's not what the church IS. The church is about Jesus, and only Jesus. And Jesus can never be a formula, Jesus can never be the "next step" toward a goal, and Jesus will never be a building.

Jesus in us equals the church.


"The Church" must simply be a collection of people who have Jesus living in them. A collection of people whose first love and passion is Jesus. Whose LIFE is Jesus. 


If we want to change the church as we know it, if we want to fulfill what God really wanted and desired when He called us the Body of Christ, we need to start with ourselves. We need to cultivate the church in us, not our relationships with other people, not our live, not our humbleness, not our unity. We need to cultivate our relationship with our Father, no matter what it takes.

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." {1 Corinthians 12:27}

{Persistence | Personal}

"When you walk through a day in trusting dependence on Me, My aching heart is soothed. Gently bring your attention back to Me whenever it wanders away. I look for persistence - rather than perfection - in your walk with Me. " {Jesus Calling, Sarah Young}

*Photo taken on Lake Superior at Tettegouche State Park

{Your Path | Personal}

"You are on the path of My choosing. There is no randomness about your life. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have not time for worry." {Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young}

I've been learning lately that the path that the Lord is choosing for me doesn't consist of where I am, or where I am going, or where I am living, or what I am doing, or how I am serving Him. Instead, it consists of my relationship with Him. 
That's what the "path" is. Walking and talking with Jesus. Listening and obeying. Loving Him.

That's all that matters. And that's all He wants from us.

Too often I get caught up in how *I* think my path should be looking, and the majority of the time I think it involves moving and doing and going. I quickly loose sight of what it really means to walk the path of Christ.

Walking and talking with Jesus. Loving Him. That's all He wants from me. If I am pursuing that then I am on the right path. 


I'm right where I'm supposed to be. 


"What can I do for You // What can I bring to You // What kind of song would You like me to sing? // 'cause I'll dance a dance for You // pour out my love for You // What can I do for You beautiful King.

"Cause I can't thank you enough."

"And I hear You sing to me // you, don't have to do a thing // just simply be with Me and let those things go // 'cause they can wait another minute // wait, this moment is too sweet // just please stay here with Me and love on Me a little longer.

"Cause I like to be with you a little longer. I am in love with you." {A Little Longer, Jenn Johnson}

{God the Artist | Personal}

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” {Genesis 1:1}

We’ve ignored a huge side of God in today’s Christianity, the creative. In the beginning, the very first thing He did was create.

God is the Ultimate Creative; He designed not only this world, but the universe, but we tend to forget that fact. In the church today we recognize the need for Christians in math and science, and even business, but the arts? Nah. The arts are evil, but there’s no need to take them back; they’re just for entertainment after all.

But God created the arts. Losing a Christian influence in the art industry has limited our view of God to the left-brained scientist. We’ve put Him in a box, ignoring His freedom to create, and reducing Him to a mathematical formula. If you get one small part of that formula wrong, the project (i.e. your life) won’t turn out.

This is where we begin to believe that being a good Christian looks a certain way, and that it takes a specific equation, because that’s our view of how God works.

This is why I feel we desperately need to take back the arts, because without being an active part of them, from movies and music to photography and painting or potter, we fail to grasp the importance of the "other side" of God.

God’s path for your life (and others) is beautiful, and a lot of it is due to the fact that it’s different than anyone else’s. He takes pleasure in creating unique places and roads just for you. Don’t forget that He’s not limited to one formula, even though we tend to think He is.

{Our Past and Purity | Personal}

I read this post on Stuff Christians Like, on “Guys like girls with a past” the other day. There are a lot of things I could say about this, and there were a lot of good arguments in the comments, such as why guys *shouldn’t* like girls with a past and other topics but it really just sparked some different thoughts for me.

____________________________________________

Wait a sec…there’s a difference? You mean there are girls without a past? Woah woah woah. When did this happen? I don’t know any.

I think sometimes we need to realize the fact that ALL of us have a past. Maybe the guys are attracted to the ones with an “open” past because they’re more real*. They’re admitting that they’ve messed up. That they’re not pure.

Because none of us are pure. I don’t care if you’ve never slept with a guy, never even kissed a guy, never watch a PG-13 movie, listened to secular music, or been around people who swear [much less use one yourself],  we were born with sin. We were born marked, tarnished… UN-pure. In Christian circles we talk about “losing our purity”, but how can you “lose” it if you’ve never had it? We talk about, strategize and stress [and stress and stress some more] KEEPING your purity, but how can we keep what we’ve never had?

“All have sinned and fallen SHORT of the glory of God.” {Romans 3:23}

We can only gain purity. We can only be given purity, it’s not something we already have. We were never whole, we were never blameless, and never spotless. Jesus came to give us that, He came to make us that way. Pure is something you become, not something you were.

Accepting this fact, for me, is freeing. Because instead of being something on me [I need to keep my purity, I need to be so careful because if I lose it… I can never get it back], and turns into something on God [He’s the only one that has it, and the only one that can give it]. It turns our focus from us to Him. Exactly where it should be. It frees us to do, and be, and say exactly what He wants of us because we have forgotten that it’s on us to save our purity.

Never forget, only Jesus can give us purity, it was never ours in the first place and it’s gift. But it’s a gift He’s more than willing to give.

“Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us. He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” {Hosea 6:1-2}

_________________________________________

{The P.S.'s} 

*This has nothing to do with the "past" or the "cooler past" that they were talking about in the post. And this is not me saying that guys should be attracted to "bad girls", it's more me saying that really we're all bad girls [and boys]. 

Links to the two blog posts that sparked these thoughts of mine [they were also feed by some of the talk at Junction last night]

http://laurennicolelove.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-makes-woman-good.html

http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/11/stuff-christians-guys-like-girls-that-have-a-past/

{Sitting at His feet | Personal}

My purpose here isn't to win hundreds of people to You, or to do awesome things for You; my purpose is to listen to, and love You. Even if I do nothing for the rest of my life but sit at Your feet, You'll still love me. And I'm okay with that. 

{New}

I'm realizing that it's time, as a Christian, to move beyond God's plan for my life, and start thinking about His plan for creation.

I think God uses His plan for our individual lives to draw us to Him, because, let's face it, we're all too selfish to care about the bigger picture; but eventually we need to realize that things are a lot larger than miracles in our own small lives.

We're just part of his bigger plan.

We're only one small piece of a billion {scratch that - a trillion} piece puzzle. An element in a large wall photo, a supporting character in the first chapter of a 500 page novel, a brush stroke in a museum full of paintings. God's dreams span much more than the 80-90-100 years we're going to be a part of this planet.

His plan is a redeeming plan, one that is going to make all things new.He's not going to stop at just making this world sinless, or flawless. He's not just restoring, He's making it new.

New. As in never used. As in never thought of, never invented before.

We can't even comprehend new, because basically, it's never exsisted before. It's completely new.

How's that for a bigger picture?

It's beyond exciting to try and wrap my mind around these thoughts, and it's thrilling to know that it is coming, and that I'm a tiny part of it all.



"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heave from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with the, and they shall be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pian, for the former things have passed away."

"Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."

{Saturday Sharing: Balancing Beam}

A friend of mine [Abbey] mentioned this video the other day during a good conversation. We were talking about how as Christians a lot of times we're so scared of falling, or sinning, or getting corrupted that we err on the side of safety. Always. We rarely take risks, because we're scared of getting stained? Or hurt? Or.. Or.. Or..

That's not what God called us to do! We're here to seek first the Kingdom of God, not safety, not salvation, the KINGDOM OF GOD. Which means we need to be conquers, overcomers, on the defense, not the offense. Someone recently said, "I truly believe that He who is in me is greater than He who is in the world. I truly believe that, and that's why once I've raised my kids I send them OUT into the world."

Our God is greater. Do we truly believe that? Then let's stop clinging to the beam and get out there! There's no point in staying pure or unscathed if we aren't doing things for the Kingdom of God!

Saturday Sharing: Your Story

So I know this is supposed to be Saturday Sharing.. but I've been a little absent from this blog.. and I decided to share some of my heart today [so it's technically "Saturday Sharing" right?]

Anyway, it's been an interesting month. In both good ways and bad. I wanted to share something that I wrote in my journal last night that God told me. I decided to go out skating late last night after working and we had a good talk.

Every good story has conflict. We learned this in Photoj, they teach it in writing classes, it's what makes the story. No conflict, no plot, no excitement. 

I wanted an adventure, but in reality I didn't want the conflict. I wanted excitement, but I really didn't want the hard stuff. 

Sometimes... I feel like I'm swimming against the current. Like one step forward, two steps back. My Zenfolio account balance tells the story... up $20, down to -6... up again... down again. It's what I feel like the rest of my business is doing.. and sometimes the rest of my life.

When I pictured an adventure, I see in my mind overcoming the world, climbing mountains, warring against LIFE. But when the world looks me in th eye, and when real life comes tearing around the corner I don't get it. I thought it was supposed to be easy climbing the mountain!?!? [ok, maybe it's a lot of tough work.. but not too hard]

Do you really think that in the movies, when the hero is staring down the barrel of a gun, the think... "Oh, it'll be ok.. I'm the hero, everything has to turn out right." ? [ok, yeah, it's just a movie.. but bear with me... these things do happen in real life.] When we watch a movie, or read a story we're fine in the action parts, because hey! they're the hero! 

My point is, as Christians, we are the hero of our story. We have even more security than being the lead role in a movie when the conflict comes, because we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God. [Romans 8:28] And with Jesus we are more than conquerors. [verse 37]

See, we might have a mountain to climb, a river to swim or a gun in our face, but we're not going to die because we're the hero in God's story. 

I wanted a story, and that's what I'm getting. 

Isaiah 30

And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand, or whenever you turn to the left..... [verses 20-21]

"Then He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plenteous. In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures.. [verse 23]

"There will be on every high mountain and on every high hill, rivers and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound. [verses 25-26]

Even though you see the bread of adversity, and in this life it seems like you keep hitting walls, and hard times and adversity, there is a promise! You will *see* your teachers [see the Lord, and the Holy Spirit] and you will *hear* a voice saying *This* is the way, walk in it." And then... read verse 23.... He will give the rain for your seed. He will water those dreams, that you sow in the ground, and give you bread. And not only will it be enough.... it will be fat and plenteous! He doesn't just promise enough... He promises *more* than enough. 

And it get's even more beautiful..... In verse 29 it says,

"You shall have a song, as in the night when a hold festival is kept, and gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, to come into the mountain of the Lord." 

Isn't that a beautiful thought? 

A need for change? or discontentment?

{I wasn't going to post these thoughts, mainly because I felt like the were just that, a bunch of jumbled thoughts flying around inside my brain. But since I wasn't sure what else I would write about, and it's been something that's on my mind lately, they're here. So go ahead and read them... and if you'd like, leave me some of *your* thoughts.}

Is it bad to be addicted to change? I like change, a lot in fact. Actually maybe more than a lot. Unlike a lot of people I know, I welcome change. Yeah, I like some favorite things that I can always come back to, that I know I like, but for the most part I like variety.

But sometimes I wonder if that’s wrong, because I have a hard time being content where I am. Right now, at this stage of my life, I’m fine being content, because there *are* a lot of things that are changing, and I *do* get to do a variety of things. But there are times in my life, when for a few years I go through the same old routine, do the same old things, etc. and I get so bored with my life.

So what do I do about this part of me? Do I embrace it? Is it something that I can use to my advantage? Is it something that God gave me for a reason? Or is it something that I need to fix? Is it a part of me that will never be content with where God has placed me? Is it something that I should be fulfilling in my relationship with God?

You know we always hear about people who are “adrenaline junkies”, and I always kind of viewed those people as someone who needed to do something daring or stupid to get a high, and I always viewed it as needy. Kind of in the sense that you *should* be getting that high from the Lord. Is that what I need to be doing about my “need for change”? Should I be fulfilling that desire I have for new things, for things that I’ve never experienced before, in my relationship with God?

Now that I think about it this way, it’s really exciting. What would happen if my whole life was a quest to learn something new about my God? If it was a challenge to cover new ground with my Lord? If when I felt that need for something new, to go to my Savior, because He is the ultimate, He’s everything, we will never come to the place where everything is “safe, or normal”. You know what I’m trying to say?

If we view it that way, instead of viewing God as one of our safe things, something that we can fall back on if we end up doing something that we don’t really like, I think maybe you’ll have a much more exciting walk! Our walk with God should always be changing, always.

The more I think about it, though, I think that God made people that way, because we need people that are not always content with the way things are; ones that will give a push to move things in a different direction. I think the challenge for me though, is to welcome change, but at the same time to learn to be content with the place that God has me, and at those times seek for new things in God……. What do y’all think about it?? Leave me some thoughts in the comments, I really like to hear others views on it. What kind of person are you?

[This post has been in a folder for a while, while I contemplated it, and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t seek change just because. That if our “change” is generated from seeking God than that’s great. I don’t think we should be doing lots of different stuff for the fun of it. {But at the same time, it’s not wrong to do some things for the fun of it.} This is starting to get kind of confusing, but this song is what sparked this end note:

                “Where You go I’ll go // Where You stay I’ll stay // When You move, I’ll move // I will follow You // Who You love I’ll love // How You serve I’ll serve // I will follow You.” ~Chris Tomlin

Inspirations

{My brother Mark on the shore of Lake Superior}

I was sitting with my sister in Culvers helping her do a paper for her interpersonal communications class where she had to observe two strangers in conversation and record their non-verbal communication. I was trying to work on some assignments at the same time, and felt absolutely no creativity what so ever. 

So I did what I usually do when something like that happens. I wrote. This is what I ended up writing.

____________

I feel like I have no creativity. What happens when I don’t, when I’m not feeling inspired, and I have to go to a shoot? I just go, and don’t worry about it, and I start to get excited about the people I’m shooting, and as that happens I become creative with the things that I have. Even if it’s at a playground, and even if it’s not my favorite people ever. 

People inspire me.

People inspire me because stories inspire me and each person has their own story to tell.

People inspire me to write stories.

Stories inspire me to visualize images to go with them.

Old things inspire me because they once belonged to another person and, to me, they represent unknown stories. 

Vintage things inspire me to imagine the people behind them.

And people inspire me to write stories. 

_____________

I'm not sure why it was such a revelation, but it was. I'm also not sure why it took me this long to realize it. I've always been a very imaginative person, and when I was little my favorite thing to do was make up stories in my head. I was terrible at telling them because, although I didn't realize it at the time, they weren't stories made of words, they were stories made of pictures. :-) 

{If you're interested in having me tell your story, shoot me an email..... believe me, I'd be more than happy to meet another inspiring person! kelleyjo@kelleyjoimaging.com }

Sometimes we need to Stop and Smell the Snow

 { We got our first snow today.... and my little sister made this snowgirl... Isn't she the cutest? }

Sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses. Or the snow. ;) [for those of you who aren't familiar with snow.... yes, it does smell... and it smells good.}

This month I've been doing the Business Mentorship program that I mentioned before on top of working two jobs, and family and friends, life. And I'm beginning to realize that you can't *always* do *everything. Sometimes you need to stop and smell the snow.


This week I think I was finally starting to become ok with everything not getting done. It's some issues on my part, always needing to have everything completed, and to not let people down, but sometimes you need to stop. Realizing that you don't always have the energy, or the time, or the brain power to finish everything on your plate. You have to let some things go. And to wait and see what happens.

Before my call with my instructor I was reading and came across this verse [Lamentations 3:25-27] "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

Sometimes, in my pursuit of what the Lord showed me I forget my pursuit of the Lord, and that's the MAIN point of life. MAIN, as in capital letters, as in the most important. Yes, it's very important to *do* what the Lord is telling you, but you'd better not lose sight of the One who told you it.

I know God has given me my gift of photography, and He's told me to pursue this as my life, but what He's called me to do *before* that is pursue Him. And if I'm so caught up in the things that need doing I don't have time to seek Him, let alone enjoy Him.

And He's the most important part of my life.

Tradition

Sometimes I wonder why we do all the things we do.

Like why we have people stand up in front of the church, all dressed up for half an hour at our wedding.

Or we we *all* get dressed up for a wedding.

And why do we make such a big deal over a wedding when it's really the marriage that counts.

And why our culture still makes such a huge deal over the wedding day, when in reality it means absolutely nothing.

Or why.....

Or why.....

Tradition? T.R.A.D.I.T.I.O.N {think Fiddler on the Roof}

Part of it makes me want to go get married on the beach in South Padre ;) just because it's not tradition. But then, my wedding counts for something to me, because my marriage would mean a lot to me. I want my wedding to be made up of things that really mean something to me.

I guess I'm just a rebel against tradition, because for the most part it seems so pointless.

Ok, so our wedding [if we have one] is one day of our life. But really, so much of our life is governed by this little thing called tradition.

Why do we do a lot of the things we do? Because of tradition. And why do we worship the way we do? A lot of times because of tradition.

It makes me want to question the "why" of all the things I do. Is it just because it's the accepted thing to do, or does it really mean something to me? I'm really against doing something that doesn't have any value for me, just because it looks good, or it's the "right" thing to do, but in reality I do it more than think I do. When I pray a certain way, when I worship a certain way, when I listen to certain music [or don't listen to certain music] much of it is "just the way things are done".

What if our *whole* life was completely free of tradition. It was as if you didn't know the way to do anything, and you were free to do everything *exactly* the way the Lord was telling you.

I feel like this is where I need to clarify; I'm *not* saying that because it's a tradition that we should ditch it, I'm saying that we shouldn't do it just *because* it's tradition. I'm also not saying that just because it's tradition that it's not important, some things are "the way it's done" *because* it's right, such as...... getting married. The wedding and marriage certificate are not just tradition, they are what's right before God.

So....... all that to say, I guess I'm a rebel against tradition and my wedding [or any other big party that I throw] is going to be the coolest un-traditional party, /just/ the way I like it ;)

Just kidding! I didn't write all that just to make the point that weddings should be cool [In reality this post isn't even about weddings] I just thought it was a good ending, since I didn't really have one, because this was just some stuff floating around in my head while I was editing [what else?] wedding pictures. :-)

Thanks for making it this far... if you're still reading all these thoughts you get to see a picture :) lol

I wanna see Miracles

"I want to see miracles //see the world change //

Wrestle the angel // for more than a name"

"For more than a feeling // For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You."

"Twenty four voices // With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies // In twenty four parts.
  and I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out."

~Twenty-four, Switchfoot

Thoughtful

I feel..... thoughtful. There's so many things going on in my life and a lot to think about. It's a good kind of thoughtful.

Mac Giveaway

Hey Y'all! This made me really excited... and I get an extra entry for posting it :-) Check it ou!


Logos Bible Software is giving away thousands of dollars of prizes to celebrate the launch of Logos Bible Software 4 Mac on October 1. Prizes include an iMac, a MacBook Pro, an iPad, an iPod Touch, and more than 100 other prizes!
They’re also having a special limited-time sale on their Mac and PC base packages and upgrades. Check it out!

This For Those Who Wait

"The pressures make us stronger // The struggle makes us hunger // the hard lessons make a difference // The pressures make us stronger // The struggle makes us hunger // the hard lessons make a difference// and the difference.. makes it worth it." 

~This is For Those Who Wait, Fireflight

This song has really spoke to me about waiting. And how really waiting is an active action... I'm actually doing something, even when it doesn't always feel like I am. I think sometimes that's when you learn the most, patience, endurance, dealing with your emotions, mental struggles. The struggle makes us hunger; the more that we are challenged, the more we fight, the more we struggle the more we will hunger after God. The more we will realize how much we actually *need* Him. But the hard lessons make all the difference, and the difference is what makes it worth it.

Baseball and Life

When I get stressed I start to pity myself. Start to say and think things like, "Nobody I know has all this on their plate." "Look at me, I have to juggle this much." "So-and-so, all they have to do is this." Boo-hoo. Oh really Kelley? Well just suck it up and keep on going, because you'll never catch up sitting there complaining that you have too much to do to catch up.

Suck it up and give it everything you've got.

Last night I was watching my brother's baseball game against last year's state champs. The first game was pathetic. One error that person was out of it for the rest of the game. One player at a time it happened to almost the whole team, and they just fell apart because their mental state went down the drain. I wanted to go over there and yell at them to stop acting like babies and get out there and play their hardest.

And then it occurred to me that I've been doing the same thing, but in life. And life is a little more important that a baseball game. I remember when I used to play, and my dad would talk about winning the battle, and how baseball is mostly mental. You can have the best skills in the world, and do amazing in practice, but if your not mentally tough you'll never make it. And that's the way I've been in life. It was easier to overcome my thoughts when I was at the plate, or when I was playing defense, but right now in life I'm losing the battle.

Losing the battle in my head. And that's just where it starts.

If I can't take over my thoughts and my attitude {'cause that's where your attitude starts} I'm losing the battle for the Lord pretty much before I've stepped out onto the battle ground. So....

Maybe I should take my own advice. Stop acting like a five-year old that's messed up, or having a rough time and wants you to pity him. Toughen up and do what needs to be done. Win the battle.